Representative prior art apparatus directed to the grinding of curved surfaces is illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,320,672 to Stein entitled "Machine for Grinding Curved Surfaces"; 4,038,783 to Rosenthal entitled "Method and Apparatus for Generating Optic Lenses"; and 4,135,333 to Stith entitled "Apparatus for Grinding a Cylindrical Optic Lens". Additionally, at least one prior art technique for grinding concave surfaces is known to include the drawing of a tilted wheel over the workpiece.
Notwithstanding techniques of the type described above, manufacturers of optical lenses and mirrors continue to search for apparatus capable of generating accurately contoured cylindrical shapes.